Mad_Max

Pulled rear suspension apart to find out why DSR is bottoming out all the time...... only to find out springs on both sides have evidence of constant compression and next to no travel so now looking elsewhere for the cause of all of this.

If you plan on going for a faster steering rack, like one from a Z3, then don't go for the offset control arm rear bushings. The Z3 rack can't manage that amount of caster and you will have overly jumpy/bumpy steering. The Z3 rack is a low ratio linear rack whereas the E36 rack is a higher ratio and non-liner, meaning that the E36 has more ability to control the forces to/from the wheels in the center position than the Z3 rack.

At this stage, I'm happy with the rack that's in it, it seems to respond quick enough for now. The car is mostly street driven (with errrmmmm "spirited driving" I will add lol), so I dare say that rack will stay as is for now.

Allow me to clarify for you:

Increasing caster doesn't improve turn in:

It does improve --- straight line stability and it does increase dynamic negative camber

- that is: if you do it, you can reduce your static camber which gives better straight line traction (braking on the front) and a more optimised contact patch / geometry from straight to turned in. It also gives more feel which is progressive and sometimes mistaken for understeer.

Offset bushes will give you about 5.5 degrees caster as per previous post - add in M3 off set top mounts and you can go to 6.5 degrees , BUT you need to modify the M3 top mount( quite easy)

For example I was running standard caster with 1.8 negative , I now run 6.5 degrees caster with 1.3 degrees negative camber M3 top hats reduce camber to 0.8 degrees negative at M-Sport ride height

The sway bay mod has NO negatives provided it is done correctly. If you change the links to strut pick-up you MUST also change the bar to a smaller size or it will be way too stiff particularly if the rear bar is not equally up rated not changing means you get a huge front to rear roll stiffness imbalance making the car understeer and also reducing front traction dramatically.

Cool, thanks - definitely food for thought. The M3 top hats are probably the best way to go at the moment, then work on the rest. Having seen your comments regarding the front bar, personally myself I do prefer a stiffer setup, I have run it very well in previous cars and seems to suit my driving style, however that is something I will be looking into at some stage so will cross that bridge when I get to it.

On a side note, I have had a good look at the springs, as there was always something odd about them...... H&R springs, 1" drop according to the part numbers. I have seen people comparing them to Eibach springs in terms of quality, though am kinda dubious about that. The rears seem to be compressed the whole time, which would explain why the rear feels like it has no suspension travel and bottoms out all the time....... and the front sits way too high lol.....

I think oem is around $150 per side, and you can order the hd versions which have stronger steel on the ball joint which increase their life and aid steering feel.

Definitely worth doing control arm bushes while you are in there, and possibly tie rod ends too.

Don't forget a wheel alignment when its all done.

Yes that's what I'm thinking too, do the whole lot once and do it right.

Posts are a bit confusing ,

There are two ball joints on each arm , outer & inner; and a control arm bush ( at the rear of the arm) .

The outer ball joint can be easily replaced - Use an HD one.

The control arm bush can be replaced with any of the numerous aftermarket offset urethane bushes ( or OE M3 ones which are stiff and relatively cheap) , this increases caster from about 4 degrees to about 5.5 which improves the front end significantly. and suits the power of the 328 better than the soft set up.

You MUST use HD outer ball joints if you do the offset control arm bushes

The other big change to make to the 328 is to convert the sway bar from short links onto the control arm to long links onto the strut - huge improvement.

I need to clarify if it's the inners or the outers first, hopefully it's the outers, and will definitely be going for the HD units if it is.

I have heard of using the offset bushes as well, something I am looking at doing as well. This will increase the castor angle, correct? And hence the improvement on turn in?

Interesting comment re the sway bar links - I've heard good and bad things about that mod, depending on what the car is used for. Will keep researching it before making any changes though - it doesn't look like a hard modification to do later on though so will keep it in mind.

Ideally I would love to take a bit of the negative camber out of it as it's very near the limit of tolerance (-1.8 degrees IIRC) with the car around normal ride height, and plans to drop it nearly 2 inches all round will cause a few headaches later on - I suspect the only real way is with aftermarket adjustable camber plates (which will require a cert).

Thanks John, will figure out what's what and give them a call, $140 each isn't a bad price at all.

there is only two bushes in the front to replace, and simple to replace at a later date.

I have some good second hand arms here off a 328 done 130,000km if needed.

otherwise if you want to buy new, around $450ish including shipping and GST from Pelican in the US

Thanks Andy, I'll have to confirm which ball joints they are talking about - report just says the front lower ones, the inspector said he was getting sideways movement from them but I just had a look and can't get any movement from the outer joints, so he might've meant the inner ones - if so I'll be in touch re getting the arms.

Thanks Ron, it's the outer bushes I think, have to double check tomorrow. I decided after posting that to get off my arse and go and have a look, my outers are the ones that clip in so easy enough to change..... but now I'm thinking, if I'm going to do that, I may as well go OTT and change all the bushes and everything as well, rebuild the front end, given the way I drive this thing it'll only be a matter of time before more stuff starts failing hahaha.

So, went for a warrant today, passed everything except both front lower ball joints, which is to be expected given the age of the car.

The question I have, is it worth trying to replace just the ball joint, or am I better off replacing the whole arm? I have heard the joints can be replaced, but it involves a 20 tonne shop press (which I don't have), so it may be easier just to replace the whole lower arm.

And if I'm replacing the whole arm, is there an upgrade of sorts that can be done? If I'm going to the cost of replacing the whole arm, I'll be doing all the bushes etc, and eventually the car will be getting dropped at least 1 to 1.5 inches lower, so ideally an arm suited for that would be best. Any suggestions on possible options?

All my years as a mechanic, never once saw a car with washers on a flex plate or flywheel. If you replace the bolts, use loctite and torque to specs, and you should be good to go.

Someone more knowledgeable than me will probably correct me, realoem lists the 318's with a different part # to the 325's so I would suggest you can't use it...... physically comparing the two though might tell a different story.

Spotted today outside Countdown Invercargill, parked right in front of mine........ complete with bimmersport.co.nz sticker on the back window (I assume it's a current member?)

There's also a red 330i driving around with D3MON number plates...... made a cop look twice the other day when he was following me down Elles Road lol

This looks like it's going to be fun hehehe

It will be interesting to see how much you will be able to read. From what I have read the ecu has 256 external memory and Many of the readers are only able to access 16 of the 256.

I will try and find the thread I read a couple of weeks ago about it.

Seems like I got the whole lot, can modify all the fuel and spark map, vanos settings, speed and rev limiters etc.

And sh*t just got real...... Siemens MS41 Flash Tool FTW, in the process of completing a full read as we speak.....

Yeh couldn't hurt to have a read through anyway...

Do you want to pm me an email address? I've got it in PDF format and can flick it through to you, no idea how to upload a PDF on here lol

I've got an winxp box set up just for this, native serial and TinyADS interface. Will be trying to code mine so it knows its a manual transmission today, is there any check you want me to run?

Thanks John, I'm just needing to find software to read and reflash the ECU, that's all. I have a guide here on how to do just this using NCSExpert if you need a copy.

All of the BMW software runs fine on Windows 10, no need to go back to anything else.

And I'll say it again, if you want to use BMW software over an ADS interface you must use 32bit Windows.

That's what I was sorta finding out lol..... INPA works fine for a diagnostic tool on Win10 so I'm happy to leave that as it is for strictly diagnostic purposes. I spent some time yesterday setting up a virtual machine with 32 bit XP installed, so be interesting to see if that does the job to get WinKFP or some other read/flash tool working.

Keen to see how this goes as I have just received my automatic b28 and I'm pulling every thing off that is not needed. I'll be needing it all flashed out .

There are a few guides out there on how to do this, I have a copy of one here on how to do it through NCSExpert for an E36 if you want a copy of that.

We're bred a bit special down there....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1R1-oRO6RY

sorry couldn't help it after your comment lmao

Would be a bit of fun to drive though.............

Thanks Neal, I have looked into virtual machines and figured that, if I have to go to the hassle of setting them up, I may as well rebuild my old laptop with WinXP and use that purely for the tuning/diagnostic software, saves having to mess with too much on my main laptop. So that may be the easiest way after all, just reinstall WinXP on an older machine for just this purpose.

Will do, will be a few weeks away from buying any more software, unfortunately having a few sensor issues with the car so she's not running right..... though on a positive, spinning the wheels on the change into second gear (it's auto :puke: ) is something new lol. So will be interesting to see how she goes with a tune.

I've got ms41 flash tool and it works sweet in win10 64bit

Thanks polley, that's the way I'm leaning too, might have to bite the bullet and buy it. Already have everything else I need to do these tunes, this is the final piece of the puzzle lol.

Unfortunately not. TunerPro is editing software only (and there's better software out there for the E36's), so I'm looking for something that can read and reflash. Might have to purchase the Seimens MS41 Flash Tool, but if I'm buying software I'd rather not have it limited to certain ECU's, if that makes sense - if I'm buying it, I may as well get something that I can use on multiple cars.

INPA/DIS are both set up and working fine, it's a known issue with the E36's that there are certain modules you can't get into (such as the dashboard), which doesn't bother me. I have confirmed my ECU is flashable, I just need the software to do so.

I've got INPA + cables, torque wrench, engine stand, spring compressors and a few other odd ball bits and pieces here, in Invercargill if anyone needs to borrow stuff down in the dirty south.

You need to use 32bit Windows as a start. INPA will run on 64bit but the lower level communications protocols will not.

Using Win32 (Windows 10 is fine) get INPA and DIS up and running then you can use the other tools.

Thanks for the reply, INPA, EDIABAS, NCS Expert and all the standard BMW tools work fine (for what I need it for) on 64 bit, so that part isn't a problem, it's trying to find software that will download and reflash the ECU data. That's the part I'm getting stuck with.

OK so I've searched and searched everywhere, and come to the conclusion that what I want to do, may not be possible at all, maybe someone can confirm that for me or point me in the right direction?

I purchased a cable that came with INPA/EDIABAS and after weeks researching, have got INPA working fine. Laptop is a newer HP running Win10 X64 edition, the car is an 03/1996 E36 328i - note that, as I am in New Zealand, this will be the euro spec version, not the USDM version, so there's a few minor differences with the cars.

Anyway, I can get into the ECU through INPA, can read and reset fault codes for the engine and transmission, that part is fine. What I would like to know or find (if there is a tutorial around somewhere) is how to download the bin files from the ECU, as there are a few small tweaks I'd like to make.

Every search I have tried keeps coming back to KWP2000 Plus (apparently only works on Win XP, says "Kick not found"), Galletto 1260 (comes up with "opening port not possible"), K-Suite (says "connection not established") or WinKFP (doesn't seem to respond at all).

So is there a way, with Windows 10, to download the full and partial bin files? Am I missing something/making a basic error with the above programs? I'm positive this has been done to death but for the life of me I cannot find the answer, and will happily take any form of abuse from anyone (for not searching the right keywords!!) that can point me to the answer